Aleksi Akhvlediani, Director of the Maritime Transport Agency, was granted bail of 30,000 GEL by the court as a measure of restraint. Judge Eka Barbakadze's decision allowed him to be released directly from the courtroom.
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The prosecution had sought a 30,000 GEL detention bail, while the defense requested a non-custodial bail of the same amount. During the session, a written statement from Tornike Rizhvadze's parents was also presented, in which they requested Akhvlediani's release from the courtroom.
"It was here, in court, that I learned that Mr. Rizhvadze's parents had appealed to the Chief Prosecutor's Office, stating that they had no claims whatsoever, that Mr. Akhvlediani is their closest friend, and they requested his release from the courtroom," Akhvlediani's lawyer, Lali Aptsiauri, told journalists.
According to Aptsiauri, if custodial bail were to be applied, Aleksi Akhvlediani's brother, Akaki, the founder of Agrohub, was prepared to pay the 30,000 GEL within an hour.
Akhvlediani has been charged under Article 238 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to the negligent storage of a firearm, thereby creating conditions for its use by another person, resulting in the loss of life or other severe consequences. The offense is punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment. Alternative penalties include a fine, correctional labor for up to one year, or house arrest for six months to two years.
According to Prosecutor Nugzar Chitadze, Akhvlediani cooperated with the investigation and "confessed to the charges, as he agreed to the content of the requested measure of restraint." When asked why the accused's dismissal from his position was not requested, the prosecutor stated that "the committed crime is not related to his position" and did not consider it expedient to make such a motion.
The preliminary court hearing in the case is scheduled for August 27.
On July 7, it was reported that Tornike Rizhvadze, former chairman of the Adjara government, was admitted to the Geohospital clinic in Sagarejo with a gunshot wound to the chest. The investigation was initiated under Article 115 of the Criminal Code – incitement to suicide.
According to the prosecution's version, on July 6, Tornike Rizhvadze visited Aleksi Akhvlediani, the head of the Maritime Transport Agency, in Sagarejo. After midnight, between 01:00 and 01:30, he secretly took a firearm belonging to the accused.
According to case materials, Akhvlediani had negligently left the weapon in a glazed summer house near his residence.
"Rizhvadze secretly moved the weapon to the guest bedroom and, left alone, shot himself in the chest with the intent to commit suicide," the prosecutor's office states.
Government propaganda media outlets disseminated a letter that Tornike Rizhvadze allegedly wrote before his suicide attempt, in which Rizhvadze asked Bidzina Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze to protect his family.
Prosecutor Nugzar Chitadze confirmed the existence of the letter. He stated that the investigator retrieved it from medical personnel at the Sagarejo hospital, along with Tornike Rizhvadze's clothes. The prosecutor stated that he was unaware of who provided the photo of the letter to the media.
"This is the first I've heard that the letter has been distributed in the media. I didn't know that the letter, which was seized by medical personnel, had been made public," he told journalists.
